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Rosemary Parmesan Crostini

The New York Times may have called this recipe a biscotti, but a biscotti it is not. Antonio Mattei would not approve. I'm re-branding this as a good crostini base instead.

I didn't intend for this post to be so much of a critique of a recipe, but it is what it is. Happens to every baker. Have you ever been thoroughly confused by a recipe? A biscotti with no sugar? Calls for an equal amount of egg whites and yolks? Walnuts instead of a more traditional pine nut, despite the Parmesan and rosemary? I accept that American biscotti is incredibly different than Antonio Mattei makes it (who I think of as the godfather of biscotti), and I do love a recipe renaissance, with new and inventive twists, BUT, I also have an issue with misnomered food. With this recipe the NYT strayed a bit too far and wound up with a an entirely different product. Biscuit, yes, but biscotti no.

That said, it's like most take out Chinese food. It's good food, just not good Chinese food. This recipe makes for a good biscuit, just not a good biscotti. I do however love it as a crostini base. So far I've been using it to go with a cream cheese and artichoke spread. (Tons of flavor!) It's also been a really great dipping bread for lemon flavored olive oil.

With all this said, I am now about to set out to make a more traditional rosemary-parmesan biscotti. The idea is just too good to let go.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, Parmesan, pepper, rosemary and pine nuts. Whisk together 4 of the eggs and the water. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Stir to combine.

Lightly flour your hands and a work surface; turn out the dough and knead until smooth. Divide the dough in half and shape each piece into a 2 1/2-inch-thick log. Spray a baking sheet with the olive oil and place the dough logs on it. Whisk the remaining egg and brush it over the dough. Bake for 35 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes and then cut the biscotti on the diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place on the baking sheet cut side down, using 2 pans if necessary. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake until browned, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely.